Strickland administration: First $25 million for 3C rail line doesn't need 'supermajority'

View full sizeChuck Crow, The Plain DealerAn Amtrak train pulls out of the Cleveland station.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The road to getting approval from state lawmakers for the proposed 3C passenger rail line may have gotten a tad easier -- but a lot more contentious.

Reversing course, Ohio Department of Transportation officials are now saying that $25 million being sought for planning work for the rail line doesn't need "supermajority" approval of the state controlling board.

The newest interpretation of Ohio law paves the way for the state to bypass a potential Republican roadblock to the initial planning moneyfor the rail line connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati.

On Monday, the majority-Democrat controlling board is expected to vote on a request from ODOT officials to green light the $25 million for environmental, engineering and detailed design work.

The moneyis just the first payment on a $400 million federal grant for passenger rail in Ohio. Last year, Senate Republicans wrung a concession out of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland's administration by getting language put into the state's transportation budget forcing a supermajority vote of the controlling board to approve the 3C.

Republican lawmakers said at the time that the language was meant to force state officials to get their approval before the project moved forward. But the actual language says that "capital improvements" for the development of passenger rail are subject to a supermajority threshold for approval.

"The law is clear," said Scott Varner, an ODOT spokesman. "It's for capital investments, and no construction will be going out with these dollars -- it's not for trains or equipment." He did say the supermajority approval will be needed for the other $375 million in the federal grant.

This change of heart by the state -- Varner said on March 24 that a supermajority would be needed for the initial $25 million -- is drawing fire from Republicans on the controlling board. Rep. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican, said the move to seek a simple majority for the $25 million will hinderfuture debates.

"It's misinterpreting the intent of the legislature and poisoning the well even further," Hottinger said. "What good does it do even if they are right? Whether they can do this is subject to debate, but what no one is debating is that they will have to have Republican support to move forward on the other $375 million."

Maggie Ostrowski, spokesman for Senate President Bill Harris, agreed, saying that the Strickland administration is bent on proceeding under a "technicality" while not fully answering GOP questions on cost, ridership and train speed.

Nonetheless, Varner said the Strickland administration is moving forward with its plan to vote on the $25 million next week despite the Republican cries to slow down the process. He countered that Republicans are injecting partisan politics into the equation by getting upset about language they agreed upon. "To delay this $25 million would be to delay the creation of jobs and economic opportunity," Varner said. "The data collected in favor of this project is very solid and very compelling."

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